A Japanese company that specializes in duty-free goods for foreign visitors has turned to vending machines to make duty-free shopping easier and faster.
WAmazing, Inc.. is offering 6,900 items including snacks, sweets, cosmetics, shampoos, chocolates and more in its machines that operate by pre-order on the company's website and pickup at the machines, which are located at airport terminals and major rail stations.
The website is in Chinese and English, the two most common visitor languages, making it easier for customers to buy products that might be labeled only in Japanese at local stores. That's a market in addition to the typical pattern duty-free shopping just before departure.
However, there are limits to the convenience. The typical high-value items sold in duty-free shops, such as jewelry and liquor are not available. And, while it only takes a couple of minutes to retrieve purchases from the locker-like machines, orders must be placed at least three days in advance, giving the company time to get the order into a locker..
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